What is Data Discovery?

Friday 29 September 2017

A common question we come across at Connexica is fairly fundamental to our business practice – what exactly is data discovery?

Like any industry term championed by Gartner, it can be open to interpretation, but we see data discovery as a methodology that can be adopted by a business in order to support data driven decision-making.

This methodology relies on combining data preparation with business intelligence and predictive analytics to give all users a full perspective on their data.

We believe the business user should have access to the data preparation tools and our core data discovery platform combines the functionality of a data warehouse with the analytics of a business intelligence tool, all through easy to understand self-service interfaces.

Data discovery is about understanding the relationships between data and using analysis to find ways to improve business practices, in formats easily digested by business users. It’s easier to spot an anomaly looking at a smart infographic rather than poring through the numbers manually, in any case!

We have taken data discovery to the next stage by introducing natural language searching into the mix. Guiding users by using terminology they understand removes the need for extensive training or experience in data science. We want to let users search for what they want in the words they would normally use – focus on creating and understanding insights that positively influence the business instead of getting bogged down learning yet another difficult to understand the product.

Why should you care?

Data discovery is easy to use, agile and scalable to any organisation size. Data discovery allows you to pick out the important bits from a unified source of data, and translate these insights into formats easily digestible by other business users across the organisation. Data discovery helps you establish a culture of data driven decision making through combining statistical analysis with human intuition and intelligence.

It is more than Business Intelligence, more than Data Warehousing and more than Predictive Analytics.

Data discovery is the vehicle for enterprise digital transformation and the establishment of a truly 21st-century data driven culture.

Don’t waste time asking questions arising from your business intelligence and data warehouse strategy. Get straight into the detail by using a methodology that provides answers instead.